• Michael Lenoir
• Mary Alice Murphy
• James A. Nickelsen

  See also:

• Advice about Asthma
• Advice about Allergies
• Pediatricians for Kids with Allergies
• Pediatricians for Kids with Asthma

Nancy
I heartily recommend Dr. Mary Alice Murphy on Telegraph and Russell (I think). Dr. Murphy is kind, thorough and very knowledgeable about how to make your home environment as allergy friendly as possible. Her staff was always pleasant. She is a parent and definitely likes kids. My son, now 17, started seeing her at the age of 6 or 7, had complete testing done, had shots for several years (I think five or six) and now is doing very well without shots or medication. Dr. Murphy is a preferred provider on the UC Care plan, and she used to be a part-time doctor at the Tang Center as well. Good luck.

From: Sarah (4/98)

Mary Alice Murphy is the allergist who sees students at the Tang Center once a week, and she has a practice here in Berkeley. She is very smart, and she treats me as though I have a brain, too. I have found her very willing to listen to me and explain things. She also keeps up with the literature and attends allergy conferences. She is caring and a great diagnostician.

Re: Allergist/nutritionalist for son's allergies

Hi - Dr. Jim Nickelson in Berkeley was great with my son. He sees both adult and pediatric patients. His office staff were very helpful. My son had some of the same issues your son had. I never found the pediatricians very helpful either, perhaps because my son's allergies were never extreme, but rather constant and annoying. Dr. Nickelson took a lot of time to discuss the concerns I had about my son. He did allergy testing and explained the results well.

He also diagnosed my son's not so serious scalp condition as a type of eczema. One treatment with the elocon (sp?) ointment, and it disapeared. It has returned, but is much more mild. I had been told that it was dandruff by his pediatrician. It wasn't a big deal, but it was nice to have an answer after 3 years with a flakey spot and thinning hair! anon

We would like to see an allergist to find out what we are allergic (often quite severe attacks) to. The one our regular doctor recommended is not giving appointments till May and the postings on the website are 3-4 years old. Thanks, Rajesh

I see an allergist, Dr. Jim Nickelsen, who has been recommended by myself and many others on this list. He's great with both adults and kids, and is on many insurance plans. What is less well-known is that his wife, Julie Nickelsen, is (I believe) a GP. So it is possible to get coordinated care in their office, with your son seeing "Dr. Julie" for checkups and other routine (or emergency!) concerns, and seeing "Dr. Jim" should any specific allergy/asthma concerns arise. They are located at Woolsey and Telegraph, which is a quick shot into Berkeley down 13 (in non-rush hour traffice) from Montclair. The phone number for the office is 644-2316. Good luck, Dawn